Rrrrrrroar!!!

We just got back from the zoo... what a great trip!  The kids couldn't have been better (PHEW!) and really had a fun time.  Knox was the most excited to go, and once we got there, he was thrilled to see all the pictures of the animals as we were walking in.  I don't think he realized that we were actually going to see REAL LIVE animals.  It was so cute, when he finally realized what a zoo really was.  I guess he was too little to remember from the last time we went.  

Best quotes of the day:

We were up against the glass staring eye to eye with an enormous gorilla and I go, "Oh.  My." And Knox finished it off with, "Goodness!"

While looking at some cheetahs lying in the shade, Tate yells out, "Hey Knox!  Look at these woodchips!!!"  It's the little things, I guess.

And my favorite... When searching in some trees for a monkey, I asked Tate if he could see it, and he looked down over the banister and disappointingly said, "All I can see is a map and some Doritos."

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Still going...

Just a little update... We're still completing lots of little activities everyday.  Last week, we did almost everything on our list:

- Make brownies

- Collect things to donate

- Make a fort 

- Play hopscotch

- Push Brady in the baby swing

- Find a new park to play at

- Sleepover with Knox (they slept in Tate's bed last night for the first time together!)

This week, we're going to start off by heading to the Dallas Zoo and then we'll go from there.  It's Brady's first time to go, so I'm excited to see how she does.  We're heading to Iowa next weekend, so we'll have to get off our little schedule for a bit.  But we always do such fun stuff while we're there - I know the kids will have a blast!

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Unexpected

Today I've been gathering a big round of donations to put out on the front step tomorrow morning.  It's mostly the very last of the little bitty baby stuff that Brady has now grown out of.  If I find something that's in great shape or that I know will come in handy, I'm putting it aside from my sister-in-law, Emily (Brad's brother's wife), because their first baby is due in the fall.  

I just went through the cabinets of the changing table and found some good stuff for Emily that's been hidden away in there forever.  In fact, not only did I not use any of it with Brady, but I didn't use it with Knox either.  As I was going through it, I found a blue and brown sling that I used just a handful of times with Nash.  I remember exactly the first time I tried to put him in it.  It seemed like it was made for a mom that was a contortionist and my mom and I were laughing hysterically in her kitchen as we tried to get Nash into it.  Once he was in, he lasted only a few minutes before he decided he'd had enough.  And the one time I wore it in public, I took both boys to Costco and had Tate in the cart and Nash in the sling, while we bought tons of diapers and formula.  That was in June of 2008.  I remember it like it was yesterday.

Those are the only times I can remember ever using the sling with any of my kids.  Only Nash.  Two times.  And today I found that sling, tucked away safely in a cabinet, waiting for me.  Needless to say, I teared up at the memories it brought up.  I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen it for four long years.  I held it and smelled it, hoping to get some of Nash's sweet baby scent.  Just holding it in my hands was so comforting... thinking that his skin touched the same fabric.  

I am so thankful for this unexpected gift today.  Things like this don't happen all that often anymore.  There is a part of me that wonders if this is the last one.  Is there really anything like this left?  I don't know.  It's too hard to think like that I guess.  I can just pray that little moments like this will continue to sneak up on me no matter how much time goes by.

Love to y'all,
Tracy

First Week of Summer

Normally, we spend our weeks in the summer swimming a couple times, driving through fast food places for a delicious and healthy lunch, and even heading to the library every other week or so. I thought I was doing pretty well all this time. But after perusing Pinterest over and over, I was beginning to feel pretty lousy as far as my summertime stay-at-home-mom skills. 

So I combined a bunch of ideas together and came up with our own system of summertime fun! I'll give more specific explanation later, but basically we come up with a bunch of activities to do each week and put them on the calendar each day so that we know which ones we're doing each day. This week, we did pretty well with our list and ended up doing some things that we normally wouldn't think to do. Here's just a glimpse of a few of them...

Who knew pipecleaners could be so fun... and stylish?!

ABC Walk - We walked around the neighborhood, looking for things that started with every letter of the alphabet.  Tate would then take a picture of it and we're going to put them in an ABC book.  He LOVED this and did a great job finding all 26 letters!

I found a recipe for salt water taffy.  Tate and I got all the ingredients (including a candy thermometer) and we went for it!  We followed the directions perfectly and everything turned out the way it was supposed to.  We even stretched it and pulled it over and over .  All we had left to do was taste it.  That's where we ran into a problem... It ended up being hard as a rock.  Not sure how or where we went wrong.  It was much more like hard candy than taffy.  And in Tate's words, "Aw, Mom... we're the worst cookers EVER!"

Thumbs Down.

Those were just a few of the things from our list this week.  We didn't get to ALL of them, but we definitely did a lot more than we usually do in a week.  We'll see how long it continues...

Love to y'all,
Tracy

If I'd Never Known Your Name

Ten years ago yesterday I walked down the aisle towards the rest of my life.    While we were getting ready in the morning, I told Brad that looking back, as great as our actual wedding was, if I were to do it over again, I'd change things here and there.  Maybe the centerpieces, probably the guest list, definitely my hair!  ...But that I'd choose him all over again in a heartbeat.  On May 25, 2002, I had no idea of the highs and lows that would meet us as the years would go by.  But I knew that I wanted Brad to be the one that I experienced them with.  And that hasn't changed a bit.

If any of y'all are country fans, I guarantee you know the song, "A Woman Like You" by Lee Brice.  It is the sweetest love song a guy could write.  It's not sappy, not even slow.  Just really, really true and written from his heart.  If you don't know the song, click here to listen to it.  Every time I hear it, I think of how my life would be if I'd of never known Brad's name...

... more reality TV ...maybe a personal trainer... definitely no Camero (or pick-up for that matter) in my garage... surly would've learned to like martinis by now... get regular mani/pedis... buy a lot more Coach purses... wouldn't know the Ranger's starting line-up by heart... be a regular at romantic comedy movies... never have ridden in a tractor... wouldn't be driving a big ole Yukon XL because I wouldn't have my sweet babies to put in it...

As the song says, I wouldn't trade a single to day for a hundred years the other way.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for blessing me with a man that takes care of me and loves me (and sometimes just tolerates me!).  Happy, happy anniversary, Brad!

Love to y'all,

Tracy

All Things Random

Sorry... I just feel like I need to do a quick update since I've been a TOTAL slacker as far as posting goes lately...

#1 Last Tuesday we found out something really exciting... Tate has a wicked fastball and is very accurate.  The downside?  He used his amazing ability to throw a Monster Truck at Knox, which resulted in a trip to the ER and two staples in his little blonde head.  

#2 Brady is teething like a mutha right now.  Sorry that's probably not the proper term, but it really does sum it up.  Poor girl is not a happy camper.  I can see her bottom left tooth right under her gums.  Come on already and pop through, you blasted tooth!

#3 Tate started his fourth season of baseball last Saturday.  I can't tell you how much I love watching him play.  I would watch him everyday if I could.  It's so fulfilling to watch your child do something that they love to do.  No soccer mom here... my little lefty is all I need.

#4 I've been a complete Pinterest nerd as of late and have some great ideas for me and the kids for summer.  I'm putting in a lot of time in to getting some things ready for our first day of Summer Vacation.  And no, I'm not saying any more than that at this point.  (That way if I totally flake and don't follow through, no one will really know how grand my original plans were.).  But I promise to keep you updated on our progress... if there is any.  

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Lessons for a Mommy

Today is always a day of mixed emotions. I have so much love and gratitude for my own mom and I'm happy to celebrate that today. In addition, I'm the most blessed woman on the planet for having Tate, Knox, and Brady here with me to cover me in kisses and I love yous. But there's always a void, no matter how great the day is. Mother's Day is about being with those closest to you and when one of your babies isn't here, it's hard to accept. 

Nash was here for Mother's Day in 2008.  I'm thankful for that.  I remember going to the Marriott in Addison for brunch, hoping we could make it through without any crying or meltdowns... he was about 4 months old.  I was proud to be toting around my two baby boys, both under two years old.  I felt true, true happiness.  I'm grateful I had that day.  

Each of my kids has taught me so many things.  Some more important than others... Just this past Friday, Tate taught me that he has bad aim when he tries to pee in the kitchen garbage can.  The same night Knox showed me how the words, "Ta da!" and a sweet smile can make a broken lamp not really matter.  And Brady taught me this morning that six month olds love pancakes.  But seriously, my kids have brought so much into my life and when I look into their blue eyes, I am blessed to be reminded of their most important teachings...

Tate, my strength.

Nash, my faith.

Knox, my hope.

Brady, my peace.

God Bless you ALL, my little ones.  Thank you for making me a mommy.

Love to y'all,
Tracy